


loud like us (karmagisa oneshots)

by luchiden (orphan_account)



Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: I will add tags as I go, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Other, Post-Graduation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-07
Updated: 2016-12-01
Packaged: 2018-08-28 10:01:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8441368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/luchiden
Summary: What happens when we aren't looking.(A series of unrelated events revolving around Karma and Nagisa.)





	1. what we left unspoken

**Author's Note:**

> Each oneshot will be a chapter.
> 
> warnings: implied sexual content

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He wants to ask Karma, wants an answer --
> 
> (Is this really what you wanted?)
> 
> \--but he knows that when Karma dreams, he doesn't dream of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> semi-plotless; very sweet

 

The words always hide behind the press of his tongue, stick to the insides of his mouth and he can't spit them out, can't swallow them either so they stay painfully etched and he wakes up with blood in his mouth sometimes because he bit his tongue in his sleep. He somehow always ends back where he started - a secret for a secret that he dares not speak of.

 

"Let me sleep here tonight." Karma says with a slight click of his tongue clashing against his teeth as he fiddles with the strap of his bag. "I'll even sleep on the floor."

 

On the other side of the door Nagisa looks perplexed, eyes blown wide and mouth slightly agape. There is no shift in his expression as he opens the door wider, allowing Karma to step in his apartment. Nagisa has always been like this, ready to help even if he did not understand the reason.

 

"So will you tell me what this is about?" The door slams and Nagisa points his finger to one of the rooms which Karma supposes is the bedroom.

 

"Yes." Karma answers and they both know that the words are filled with air, empty and hollow, and that Karma will not answer, not now at least.

 

Karma sleeps on the bed that night and Nagisa sleeps on the couch. That's how things go between them - Karma is not a good enough of a person to refuse and Nagisa is too good of a person to not offer. Sometimes Karma wishes Nagisa would push, would shove, would hit him where it hurts. It still doesn't change anything. In the morning Karma wakes up to a cup of coffee which is already far too cold to drink and a sandwich covered with plastic wrap. He drinks the cold coffee anyway.

 

The request is the same every time Karma comes in, but it's not unwelcome. In a way they have established it - and Nagisa's learned to never ask questions.

 

 

 

 

He wants to ask Karma, wants an answer --

 

(Is this really what you wanted?)

 

\--but he knows that when Karma dreams, he doesn't dream of him.

 

 

 

 

He looks at the note Karma left behind. A pale pink paper, the edges crumpled and creased, with Karma's neat handwriting in big letters.

 

_Thanks for always taking care of me, Nagisa! :)_

 

There's something red, sizzling right under his floating ribs, and he puts a hand to his stomach, trying to calm it down. It only seems to grow bigger, bloating like a balloon, inches away from bursting. The hand-drawn smile at the end of the note seems to be mocking him but he doesn't manage to throw it out so he turns it upside down and leaves it on the counter before he picks up his bag from the floor and leaves.

 

 

 

Nagisa's hands cradle the hot cup of tea, fingers tapping against the ceramic occasionally, when he notices a book that does not belong to him. The covers are white, Karma having bound them in white paper, so he opens it, his left hand still clutching the cup. He takes a sip as his eyes trace the title - "Memento mori" - and a translation underneath, in Japanese. "Remember that you have to die." Nagisa's breath lodges inside of his throat and he closes the book. He knows, what's dead can't come back.

 

"You're really a weakling, aren't you, Nagisa?" He sighs to himself, before closing his eyes. Maybe that's so. But he can't let himself think like that.

 

 

 

He talks to Kaede on the phone a month later. It's not that they haven't been keeping in touch, per se, the occasional 'How are you?' or 'Is work hard?', or sending pictures to each other, but it's different than the time they were together, as classmates. It's only natural but there's still a clenching in his chest that he can't get rid of, drowning him out sometimes. It's bearable, if not for the sole reason of necessity to move on. He _has_ to be strong. After all, he's supposed to have learned something after all these years. If he has not, it would have been all a waste.

 

"Kaede-chan." There are coffee splatters on the paper cup he crushes in his hand and he twists it before chucking it out. "How did it feel to like me?"

 

"Why'd you ask? You fancy someone?" She asks, without a beat in her speech, no drop, no rise. It feels both saddening and happy, the way she hasn't changed at all. And she knows. After all this time, she still knows.

 

"I wouldn't be asking you if I knew." He responds, shuffling his feet because he always has to move, always feels like there's somewhere to go.

 

"Hmm." She hums and Nagisa can almost see her face in his mind's eye, her forefinger tapping her chin, her unfocused eyes. "There was the whole loud, fast heartbeat thing, sure, but I think I just wanted to be noticed by you. The way I noticed you. Of course, that's all in the past and stuff but, you know. I envisioned it often, if only to entertain myself. And mostly, I wanted to put you in front of myself. Before myself. That was my first mistake."

 

"I'm sorry I couldn't do that." Notice you, that is.

 

He knew it, somehow, even before she told him. It was too late by then, they had graduated and Kaede had told him, as if it were a joke. It hadn't been, and he saw it in her eyes, but it was far too late because by that time she had met somebody else and fallen in love all over again, her affection for Nagisa only left as an open wound, untreated. And Nagisa had been pouring salt into it for so long. Maybe telling Nagisa had been closing a final chapter in order to write a new one, with her own hands, hands that didn't belong to Nagisa and never would. In a way, he had felt both relieved and curious. Curious, what could have been had he realised. Relieved, because even then he probably wouldn't have been able to return her feelings. That's the worst, he had thought. But it wasn't. Because for Kaede, it had been a million times more painful.

 

"It wasn't your fault and it's not now either. It was nobody's fault." She says, her voice still holding the same playfulness he remembers, and he hears planes passing behind her. Her flight is in half an hour. He shouldn't keep her long. "But listen, Nagisa, I'm going to give you one advice that you should follow whatever you do. Be selfish. Don't think about anybody else."

 

A pause. Then,

 

"So who is it, really?"

 

He laughs and he knows, everything is fine between them. "I'll tell you once I see how it goes."

 

 

 

But that's how it is, Nagisa thinks. He comes home and he unbuttons the first two buttons of his collar, and he closes his eyes and he drowns. That's how it is - his cold bed, unused, because Nagisa can't feel comfortable sleeping in it anymore. There's something in his stomach, growing, eating away at him, tearing apart anything it gets close to. This is how it is - you eat the bad parts first and you save the best for last, only to make it last longer, only to have a single good memory. Nagisa is saving the best for last, before it all crashes down like a wave. He drowns. In the morning he dusts off his coat, combs his hair, swallows down his breakfast and pretends that there's nothing out of the ordinary, that his house is not twice as big as it used to be.

 

 

 

"Let me sleep over."

 

And this is how it sounds to Nagisa - open yourself up for me and let me carve the seasons into you. Let me make myself at home, let me breathe air into you until you're bigger than me, until we can both fit. Let me pour out all my insecurities, all of the sleepless nights I've had into you and I'll let you find the warmth you've never had. I'll caress your hair until you forget the pain of it being pulled out. You'll lock your legs into mine until I stop wanting to escape.

 

And Nagisa opens up his door, the warm light of the lamp painting shadows over Karma's face, and he knows he's made the right decision.

 

This is how it sounds - I'll let you fold the sun behind my teeth only if you kiss the burns.

 

 

 

 

Karma wakes up and his bones creak like the floorboards of an old house. He supposes that it's a good thing, not kicking off bed covers as if they are invisible hands, eyes as red as blood, supposes it's a good thing, not waking up in the middle of the night, out of breath and bathed in cold sweat.

 

And Karma only wishes for simple things. What really is good is Nagisa, in the kitchen, by the time Karma wakes up, and it makes bubbles fizzle up where he wouldn't know they could be.

 

(Now they match, something racking them both up from the inside out.)

 

"I thought you would be out by now?" Karma sits across Nagisa, his bare feet tapping against the cold tile floor, under the coffee table. Nagisa takes a bite off his scrambled eggs, the same impassive features laid over his face, but his eyes glint underneath his bangs. "You don't have classes today?"

 

"I have classes every day, Karma." He raises his eyes and looks at him head on. Then, his lips curl. "A teacher is also allowed to take a rest sometimes."

 

"Oh, pardon me." Karma laughs, and this is comfortable, this is how it is supposed to be. "I wouldn't know. I'm not a teacher."

 

There's something in Nagisa's chest now, bright and strong and it pushes against his skin, breaking tissue, suffocating him.

 

"I was--" He pauses. "I _am_ worried about you. When did you start having nightmares?"

 

Karma misses a beat and that's when he knows he's been caught. His lips flat out to a thin line. "A while ago. I just didn't know where to go and how to stop it. I figured that if somebody could help me, it would be you."

 

Nagisa hums. His left hand reaches for the pocket of his jeans, reassuringly tracing the pink paper he pocketed secretly.

 

"Did it help?"

 

"For the most part. Sometimes it's inevitable. I would have thought it would be you that would have nightmares. After all, it's you who suffered the most." Karma stretches out and Nagisa knows Karma doesn't expect an answer. Nagisa wouldn't have given him one either way. "But still. It's better. I sleep better here."

 

"I'm glad to be of service then." Nagisa smiles and Karma's eyes glint.

 

This is what they left unspoken, for the sole reason of not being able to tell it in words - Nagisa's socked feet against Karma's cold, bare ones; the spare set of toothbrushes in Nagisa's bathroom, right next to the shampoo that Karma always uses; the two umbrellas by the door and the duplicate key that dangles off of Karma's neck, as if it is his most prized possession.

 

This is what they don't tell us - Nagisa, whispering 'thank you' in Karma's ear, and the smiles they both try to hide behind their hands.

 

 

 

 

He calls Kaede another month later and she says, "I see you've found your answer."

 

And Nagisa can tell her this, if nothing else: "It's Karma."

 

And her laugh rings across his ears when she says, "Well, I expected as much."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading !! ; please do leave some feedback for it is my fuel. [tumblr](http://kunpimwah.tumblr.com/);


	2. if you realize it's me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> nagisa is cute and karma _knows_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again, a title completely unrelated to the content.
> 
> also i have this ridiculous headcanon that nagisa calls all the girls by their first name; this is ridiculously un-beta'd and ridiculously plotless but i hope you enjoy nevertheless;

 

 

"So, as I was saying," Rio laughs, her voice carrying out and Nagisa feels like it's almost tangible, almost visible in the air. "As I was saying, I think you should get a job."

 

The café is packed, words overlapping words and breaking glass surfaces into Nagisa's consciousness and it all eventually blurs down to a mess. A big gray noise and even if Nagisa tried, he wouldn't have been able to make out a single word. He's barely making out the words of the people sitting at his own table. The smell of cinnamon and coffee beans melts together and he inhales. Holds his breath. Exhales.

 

"And as I was saying," Kaede counters "I'd rather, first and foremost, graduate high school."

 

"And whomever said you can't study and work at the same time?" Rio pauses, as if she's out of breath and her mouth folds over the pink straw of her lemonade. She seems to be taking forever. It's like she's slowing down time. "You're always complaining about how much time you have and how bored you are. Then there are those of us who have too little time."

 

And Nagisa can only smile when they smile. Sometimes he feels like a mime, only trying to copy what they do, to keep up the mask of a person. He doesn't know what's underneath himself, he wouldn't like to see it either.

 

"Kaede-chan." He speaks up, voice smooth. He's always liked it, albeit it is a few tones too high. "Why don't you get a boyfriend?"

 

And then they start laughing, like tidal waves, together, at the same time. Nagisa doesn't know what's funny and all he can do is throw in a lopsided smile, feeling like they're in on a joke he isn't. That's the worst, feeling like an outsider in something you're supposed to be a part of.

 

"Honestly." Rio drawls out, her forefinger brushing under her lower lashes as if she's wiping off invisible tears. She sighs. "Kaede and a boyfriend. Cracks me up."

 

Nagisa doesn't know why it cracks her up but he does not ask either.

 

And just like that it shifts. They're not talking about it anymore and Nagisa should not either. Instead, he focuses on examining the napkins, eyes lowered and his friends' voices shoved to the back of his mind.

 

Sometimes, once, he had somebody tell him that a person unconsciously feels when somebody is watching them. Nagisa doesn't know if that's particularly true or it's just the circumstances but for whatever reason when he picks up his gaze, the conversation on his table relocated to the back of his mind, he finds eyes on his. The boy has beautiful eyes, liquid gold, and something shifts behind them, as if alive, and Nagisa wants to know what it is. There's something curious, like the boy across him, at the other table, knows something Nagisa ought to know but doesn't. His mouth is stretched into a smile and Nagisa is ready to break eye contact when the boy _winks_.

 

  
_Winks at Nagisa_.

 

Nagisa's face heats up in a matter of seconds and he lets his bangs fall over his eyes. He can almost hear the stranger's laugh in his ears. It doesn't feel too bad, it doesn't feel bad at all. His stomach is doing somersaults and he feels funny but it's _nice_. Since Nagisa is almost never noticed, that's a first for sure.

 

When he raises his head again the boy is talking with the others on his table and Nagisa breathes out relief. Or disappointment. He doesn't have time to think about it. He drizzles more chocolate syrup over his pancakes and mashes them into nothingness with his fork. His ears are still hot and he shakes his head. He tries to focus on what Kaede and Rio are talking about again, blinking a few times for good measure. He focuses on the smooth dulcet of Rio's voice, as he shovels food into his mouth. Somehow, the conversation has switched to school talk and Kaede faces him.

 

"Nagisa, aren't you in the same class as Isogai and Maehara this time around?" She points the fork at his face, waving it around like it couldn't possibly poke his eye out, and he backs away instinctively.

 

"Kaede- _chan_." He says. "That's dangerous so I'd rather you stop."

 

"Nagisa, stop being such a baby." Rio retorts and her hand reaches up to ruffle his hair. He can't say he minds. He doesn't always feel like an extra in their group. It's like this sometimes and he likes it. It feels like the annoying older sister he's never had. "So?"

 

"Yes."

 

"'Yes' what?"

 

"Yes, I am in the same class as them." He laughs. It feels ridiculous. It feels so oddly fast, the time that has passed. They're growing up.

 

His eyes involuntarily stray to the table across, movement catching his eye. The boy's friends have already gathered up their bags and are waiting. As they're passing the boy looks down at him, smiles, and places something on the table. Nagisa's mind blacks out and all he can hear, vaguely, is the sound of the doorbell.

 

"Nagisa, _what_ was that?" Rio raises her voice, undertones of laughter hidden in the question, and he knows, he _knows_ , he'll be teased later. Rio is going to drive it into him.

 

Kaede reaches for what the boy left on the table and he hastily throws his arms over it. "Mine." he hisses.

 

Kaede retreats her hands and laughs, loud enough for the whole universe to hear. "Yours."

 

(When he turns it over there's a phone number and the name "Karma" - Nagisa feels elated to finally stop calling him 'the boy' - scribbled with a lot of stars circling it. He smiles and Rio hits the back of his head because, well, he deserved it, somehow. She doesn't know how exactly but it doesn't stop her anyway.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _"hey, yeah, is--" nagisa stutters, taking a deep breath and he feels like he sucks up all the air of his room. he's left in a vacuum, hyperventilating. "karma? i'm nagisa. that's- my name. from the café?"_
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>   _his voice goes up, as if he's screaming it. he hates himself. talk about lame._  
>     
>  _at the other side, karma laughs, and his laugh is full and smooth, just like his voice that follows. "well, nagisa. your voice is just as nice as i imagined."_


	3. 100 °C

 

And it always starts like this.  
  
  
"You have never even had your heart broken, have you?"  
  


And it always ends like it starts, always, always, always.

  
"Man, you're so cold."

   
Does it even matter? We're all cold. You're not better than the person next to you, you're all selfish, we're all selfish.

   
(His feather-like touches gather on the surface of Nagisa's skin and he remembers them all, as fleeting as they are, before he can even cry. In the morning Karma'll be gone with dollar bills folded into paper cranes next to Nagisa's pillow - Karma always thought he could buy happiness if he had enough money.) 

   
Nagisa's had his heart broken far too many times, over and over again.

 

 

   
The vague shape of the relationship they build takes form somewhere mid August, in the summer heat. 

   
This is how it goes --

   
( "Why are you here?"

   
"I missed you, Nagisa."

   
"You want something, don't you?"

   
"You know me so well."

   
"I do know you so well.")

   
\-- and we all know that not all stories have good endings. This one doesn't have a bad one either.

 

 

There are pictures of them in some magazines by the time December rolls around. It's a given, Karma is a public figure now, even if it's hard to swallow and even harder to digest. Nagisa can believe it. It's just that he's not used to this much attention. The only time he had to face a similar thing is the time after he killed his own teacher. Karma says it's fine though, so it must be fine, he thinks, while Karma bites down on his naked collarbone so hard that Nagisa shakes. But it's always easy to forget, to lose his mind, under Karma's touch.

   
They meet halfway across oceans. Nagisa travels on every day off he has and Karma travels on most workdays. The first time they meet it's not an accident but it's not completely left to fate either. Just knowing that they're in the same city, lingering in cafés more than they should, hoping to see the other passing the street. Just by accident. They meet in Prague and Nagisa can't speak the language so he keeps quiet and orders food in English. And Karma sits on the chair next to him and his knee bumps in Nagisa's and when he smiles - that's when their future is already set.

   
Nagisa finds consolation in the fact that Karma wants him. If he wants him more than once, then maybe there's something in Nagisa worth coming back for.

 

 

It's the end of January when they meet again, Nagisa lost count of the times they've been through the same old customs of back, forth, back, forth. Two steps back of Karma's shiny, polished shoes against the step Nagisa takes forward in his half worn-out boots. It's in Athens this time and Nagisa knocks on the door four times before Karma lets him in.

   
"Looking sharp, I see." He says and Nagisa turns his face so Karma doesn't see the slight flush. He can't look weak. After all, that's the game they play.

   
"And you look tired." Nagisa remarks, after a deep breath and a three seconds delay.

   
"I _am_ tired." But his eyes shine through and Nagisa knows what's coming for him before anything has happened. It doesn't mean he's prepared. Maybe he never will be.

   
Karma's mouth is hot on his, and it's burning, his blood sizzling underneath and he digs his nails into Karma's shoulders, crumpling his expensive suit. It probably costs half of what Nagisa paid for his apartment. That's another thing he likes. The sound of Karma's shirt sliding off, the sound of the leather of his belt, Nagisa's own punctuated breathing. Karma nips on his bottom lip and Nagisa is ready to give, opening up his mouth, as Karma's hand settles on his waist and shivers run up Nagisa's spine. Karma backs away, breath hitched, and expertly unbuttons Nagisa's shirt with one hand.

   
"Is it hot in here or is it just you?" Karma's voice is a lilt, mocking, mischievous and his lips are stretched in a smile, as if he can't think of anything funnier. Nagisa likes that too, likes being the center of Karma's attention. There's a poorly concealed fondness in Karma's eyes and it makes Nagisa's throat close in.

   
"You think you're funny, right?"

   
"I know I'm funny."

   
"Just hurry up."

   
Karma obliges, licking a stripe up Nagisa's neck and his breath tickles the shell of Nagisa's ear. "Don't be impatient now."

 

 

   
It's about six in the morning when Nagisa wakes up to the rustling of sheets and he wants to scream 'Stay!' at Karma's back but he's far too afraid that Karma wouldn't even turn around. So he settles for slowly taking in Karma's silhouette, dimmed against the rising sun and he feels his heart jump to his throat. He swallows it back down.

   
"Like what you see?"

   
Karma doesn't turn. He doesn't even look at him.

   
"Why wouldn't I?" Nagisa's voice is raspy and it cracks over the syllables and maybe that's what makes Karma glance at him. And Karma's eyes are so warm, so soft, that for a second Nagisa wishes he had never said anything.

   
"I have to go now."

   
Karma is almost at the door when Nagisa breathes in deep. "What are you afraid of?"

   
Karma's whole body trembles, as if he has been shot. Funny, Nagisa thinks, how he can make the reference. Knowledge comes with experience.

   
"I don't know what you mean."

   
"Figure your shit out, Karma." Nagisa sighs, a hand to his temple as if it pains him. "I don't know if the reason you're so scared is me. I don't know. I can't know if you don't tell me. And I can't do this anymore if you never tell me anything."

   
Karma stays silent and his whole body looks like a guitar string that's been stretched far too much - his shoulders are tense, his hands are tight into fists. And he looks like he's ready to say something. But it passes and Karma opens the door and leaves. Nagisa's eyes fill with tears, unable to say anything. He doesn't let himself cry, though. After all, this was Karma's choice and Nagisa expected it. Even if he had hoped that Karma would realize.

   
Nagisa supposes it was time for it to end. Just like all things do.

 

 

   
But it doesn't end. Nagisa makes the same mistakes he did when they first began in August. It is April when they meet in Beijing, the loud current of people and noises drowning out the smiles that they both try to hide. It's nothing different. Karma brings Nagisa back to his room and nestles his head into the crook of Nagisa's neck because it's not like he would admit it but he's missed that so much.

   
It's when they lie in bed, Nagisa's arm thrown over his eyes, that Karma speaks up. "That morning in January. A few months ago. I was scared. I was scared because I couldn't stop thinking that I couldn't believe how lucky I was."

   
And well, if it's made them both a little more honest, it can't be a bad thing.


	4. you light my (house) on fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which nagisa cannot cook, for the life of him, and karma likes a good laugh

For Karma the day starts with a trip to the convenience store right at the closing of the cul-de-sac down the street and an awful twenty-something seconds in which Nagisa stutters over the phone, half-screaming, half-whispering, before Karma realizes that today will be a great day. He nestles his mobile between his shoulder and his ear while he picks up soft drinks and ponders over which toothbrush will be best to use because he threw out his old one and he listens to Nagisa's drawled out whine about "I cannot _cook_ , Karma, I need you to help me, _please_."

"Well, I _could_ , but what's in it for me?" He mimics Nagisa's voice and he already knows the sour face Nagisa is making.

"Karma, what are friends for?" Nagisa tries as Karma pulls out his wallet from the inner pocket of his coat. The cashier looks his age, a girl that seems indefinitely and infinitely bored of life, and she chews her pink gum as she checks his products. Her stare falls begrudgingly on Karma and he wants to furrow his brows and tell her 'it's not my fault that my best friend is incompetent!' but he just hands her the money.

"Friends are for nothing if I don't benefit from them."

"Well, I can offer you my love?"

He covers his face with his hand and sighs.

"That's a low blow, Nagisa." He pockets his wallet and adjusts the shopping bag so the strap rests at his forearm. "I'll be there in fifteen."

 

 

 

"So, what are we cooking?" Karma asks upon arrival as he sets the shopping bag on the kitchen counter.

Nagisa's face breaks into a self-satisfied smile as he ties his hair into a single ponytail. "Omelette rice. Because Maehara said," Nagisa clears his throat and lowers his voice into what's supposed to be an imitation of Maehara's voice. " _'You cannot possibly fuck up omelette rice.'_ so that's what I'm going for. Not fucking things up, that is.

Karma thinks that there are many ways to fuck up omelette rice but he's not the one that will go and tell Nagisa that. After all, Maehara is good at cooking. To him, everything that's culinary is easy.

To Karma - moderately. He's fine with cooking. He's learned to be independent. He's learned to make his own meals.

To Nagisa? Not so much. If it were possible he would get water to catch fire.

"So why didn't you ask Maehara, anyway? He's better at cooking than I am." Karma says, rolling up his sleeves.

"So what? You're also good at it." Nagisa stands on his tip toes as he rummages through the cupboards, pulling out products. Karma thinks it's indescribably cute. Not that he would say it. "Plus, I like you better than Maehara. He always bosses me around. Moreover, how can he be this good at everything? People like that should only exist in manga."

"How about Kaede?"

"She only knows how to make sweet stuff."

Nagisa turns around and with that Karma knows that the conversation is over and also knows that Nagisa is far too honest for his own good.

"Here. Peel the upper layers only and cut it in half." Karma hands Nagisa an onion and Nagisa looks at it as if it's the holy grail. As if there's never existed something so amazing as an onion. "I would like that done in this century, if possible." Karma adds and Nagisa jumps, looks around and then nods.

"Right, sorry."

While Nagisa is doing that Karma puts water in the rice cooker and sets the timer. When he turns around Nagisa has curled his fingers into a paw and his tongue rests between his teeth. Karma smiles. What a time to be alive. He goes around to help Nagisa until the rice is cooked.

"Just oil the pan and put the onions to cook." If Nagisa is anything, he's fast to learn. He does exactly as Karma says and the onions start to sizzle against the heat of the pan. "You need to also put in the rice and the rest of the vegetables."

"Doing that." He sighs and scratches his forehead, right under his bangs.

"Come here, meanwhile, and beat the eggs."

And he thought Maehara was bossy. Still, it makes Nagisa smile and he can't say no anyway. Plus, he asked for Karma's help. He can't complain.

 

 

(But still, Nagisa knew it was going too good to be true.)

This is how it goes, no explanations needed -

 

"Oh my god, Nagisa, this is so _not_ how you should break the shell."

"What's wrong?"

"Don't hit it on the table, do it over the edge of the bowl!"

"Oh, okay."

"Nagisa! Are you going to eat that? I'm not going to eat that! Parts of the egg shell are inside there!"

 

\- and, surely, Nagisa should have remembered they had forgotten something.

 

(And: "Do you smell something burnt?")

 

 

By the time Nagisa turns off the stove the rice has caught fire and he's screaming messily at Karma to 'bring a damn fire extinguisher' even though Nagisa doesn't even own one. There's smoke engulfing the whole kitchen and Nagisa's panicked face is the funniest thing Karma's seen in ages. Nagisa tries to wave in front of his face with a towel in hopes of clearing the smoke but he only coughs harder and Karma decides to help, like the good human he is.

"Jesus, leave it to me. Just open the window."

 

 

("I'm sorry, Karma. Even though you wanted to help me. Sorry." Nagisa ties his fingers together, intertwining them, and he dares not bring his head up.

"Don't worry, I knew this would happen."

"Nice to know you trust me." But he's already laughing so everything's fine.

"Yeah, whatever you say. Wanna order Chinese takeout?"

"Sure.")

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have no idea why i wrote this but i did. bringing all the clichés on!! as if this type of thing hasnt been written a million times over!!! also maehara cooking is (again) a headcanon. thank you for reading !!


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